The Atlanta Braves have placed 25-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hanson on the 15-day disabled list due to a lower back strain. Hanson has pitched in 22 games (all starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 12-5 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 99 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Braves and he is 44-27 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Braves hope he only has to miss a couple of weeks.

The Braves have acquired 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm, 35-year old righty swinging outfielder Reed Johnson and cash considerations from the Cubs for 25-year old righty reliever Jaye Chapman and 21-year old starter/reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Maholm pitched in 21 games (20 starts) for the Cubs this year and he was 9-6 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has now pitched in 206 games (205 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 62-79 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Reed Johnson has played in 76 games for the Cubs this year and he is 51 of 169 (.302 avg, .799 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 3 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,073 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 908 of 3,198 (.284 avg, .756 OPS) with 474 runs scored, 62 homers, 365 RBIs and 41 stolen bases.

Jaye Chapman was not one of the better prospects of the Braves coming into this season. But, he pitched really well in AAA-ball for the Braves this year, increasing his value. Chapman pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year for the Braves and he was 3-6 with 7 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Arodys Vizcaino came into this season as the Braves’ #2 prospect, but he had Tommy John Surgery this spring. He pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

This was a good deal for the Braves as Maholm will improve the starting rotation and Reed Johnson will help the bench as he can hit and play all three outfield spots defensively.

40-year old switch-hitting 3B Chipper Jones has been red hot with the bat so far in July. Jones has played in 20 games so far in July and he is 27 of 73 (.370 avg, 1.064 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 63 games so far this year for the Braves and he is 71 of 224 (.317 avg, .901 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers, 43 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Jones is looking like he wants to go out with a bang, as he is retiring after this season.

The Braves have acquired 25-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Brian Friday from the Pirates for 26-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Chris Marrero. Friday played in 66 games in AAA-ball for the Pirates this year and he was 45 of 194 (.232 avg, .628 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 0 homers, 25 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 478 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 439 of 1,669 (.263 avg, .724 OPS) with 246 runs scored, 17 homers, 170 RBIs and 53 stolen bases. Christian Marrero played in 79 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 55 of 222 (.248 avg, .744 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 5 homers, 35 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. This is the kind of trade that could help out both teams. The Braves needed middle infield help and the Pirates needed an OF/1B with some pop.

The Braves have signed 41-year old righty starter/reliever Miguel Batista to a minor league deal. He pitched in 30 games (5 starts) for the Mets earlier this year and he is 1-3 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Batista has now pitched in 653 games (248 starts) in his first 18 years in the majors and he is 102-115 with 41 saves, a 4.49 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He might be able to help the Braves later this year if he proves that he has anything left in the gas tank in the minors.

The Atlanta Braves got rebuffed in a deal for Ryan Dempster. They are not looking higher with their sites on James Shields and Zack Greinke. The Braves’ willingness to deal Randall Delgado for Dempster means that they are not afraid to deal top prospects to get what they want. If the Braves missed out on Shields and Greinke, they will likely look smaller at guys like Francisco Liriano, Jason Vargas, Paul Maholm, Clayton Richard and Kevin Correia. I have little doubt that the Braves will improve their starting rotation in the next few days. The Braves are also likely looking for a short term fix at SS. Jamey Carroll and Yuniesky Betancourt both makes sense and they would likely come cheap prospect wise. It’s time for the Braves to ante up to compete for a playoff spot again in 2012.

26-year old righty reliever Kris Medlen has been out of sight so far in July. He has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) so far in July and he is 0-0 with a 0.55 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP. He has only given up 8 hits and 4 walks in 16 1/3 innings so far this month with 13 whiffs, which is impressive. Medlen has now pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 2.48 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. The Braves were smart to keep Medlen in the bullpen as they toyed with the idea of making him a starter earlier this year.

The Braves have released 29-year old righty reliever Adam Russell. Russell pitched in 31 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 7.28 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. He was pathetic for them in the minors this year. Russell has pitched in 85 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 8-3 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. This is no loss for the Braves.

The Braves have placed 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Matt Diaz on the 15-day disabled list due to a right thumb contusion. Diaz played in 51 games for the Braves last year and he was 24 of 108 (.222 avg, .613 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. He has not been his usual productive self for the Braves so far this year. He has played in 578 games in his first seven years with the Braves and he is 457 of 1,528 (.299 avg, .796 OPS) with 185 runs scored, 43 homers, 194 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. The Braves hope that Diaz heals up soon and gets back to the player he once was for them.

32-year old righty swinging 2B Dan Uggla is in a deep slump for the Braves right now. Uggla has played in 13 games so far in July and he is 4 for 42 (.095 avg, .422 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 37 games so far in June and July in which he is 17 for 123 (.138 avg) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Uggla has played in 89 games overall this year and he is 67 for 310 (.216 avg, .729 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 12 homers, 46 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Braves need Uggla to get back on the right track, and soon.